Airlines boosts fares again

Industry analysts wonder if they will stick

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NEW YORK — The airline industry boosted many one-way fares by up to $10 late Monday, as carriers struggle with weakening domestic results, though most have had scant success in making increases stick recently.

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Late Monday, Continental Airlines Inc. raised one-way fares in 30 percent of the top U.S. markets by $5 for advanced-purchase tickets and by $10 for last-minute seats, according to farecompare.com, an airfare tracking Web site. That triggered competitors American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways to match on overlapping routes, as well on some routes out of hub airports.

It's the industry's fifth or sixth attempt to increase fares this year, said Rick Seaney, chief executive of farecompare.com. If it succeeds, it would be the year's first, as prior attempts unraveled within a week after low-cost carriers refused to join in, he said.

Last year, when carriers were flush amid strong demand and relatively flat capacity of airplane seats, Seaney said almost all the industry's attempts succeeded. There were about seven.

By the count of Jamie Baker, a JP Morgan analyst, the big network airlines have tried to raise fares seven times this year, with two successes. Baker also wrote in a research report that low-cost carrier AirTran Holdings Inc. was the first to raise fares Monday, increasing one-way fares by $5 to $10 by midday.

He described the industry's most recent attempt as a small fare increase. American Airlines raised about 6,000 fares. A typical broad-based increase covers about 300,000 fares, he wrote.